


Is This A Date?

by genericfanatic



Series: The Saga of Friendship [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, and sorta a date ish, i know this has a onesided relationship in it but i swear its not angsty, just a fun mall trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 23:17:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10672830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genericfanatic/pseuds/genericfanatic
Summary: Allura finally agrees to go on a "date" with Lance at the Space Mall.





	Is This A Date?

**Author's Note:**

> So despite not being really part of the 'saga' universe, I'm putting this in that series cause it also has to do with a growing platonic friendship. I'm probably going to put my keith & pidge story here too.

“Please, please, please, please, PLEEEAASEE!” Allura said, whining like a child

“Allura, no,” Coran said, “I’ve told you, it’s far too dangerous.”

Allura pouted, “But the paladins said that it’s much nicer than it was 10,000 years ago!” He frowned her down, “I’d…I’d be perfectly safe!”

“There may be less pirates now,” Coran said, preparing his list of supplies and gathering things they could use to trade, “But its still a Galra run base, we left that mall fleeing Galran security, I don’t want to run any risks when we don’t have to.”

Allura grumbled. “You know, I’M the princess. You can’t really tell me what I can and cannot do.” 

“Allura, you’re not going, and that’s final.” 

Coran really could sound like Alfor when he wanted to, and Allura instantly backed down. Coran’s mind was set as he gathered the remainder of the equipment, and with a ear-splitting groan, loaded the last of the boxes on his pod. He came back to her with a smile on his face, “I’ll be back the tick I gather up all our supplies. Be safe.” 

He gave her a hug, got on his pod, and left. 

Allura watched him go. She was so grateful that even with all she’d lost, she still had him in her life. 

But she really, really, REALLY wanted to go to the space mall. 

 

Allura looked down at her mice. “If I have an escort,” Allura said, “Coran won’t be too mad at me, once he finds out” She told them, “And they’ll be able to show me around. But who would take me?”

The mice squeak up at her. “Keith and Pidge are out, obviously, they’re both on assignment,” She continued “Shiro would be my first choice, but he’s just as concerned with my well-being as Coran, ever since the space base…” She sighed, “And Hunk…Hunk doesn’t like breaking the rules as much. He’s complained about sneaking around with Lance often enough—“

She stopped talking as she realized her one remaining option. Lance was trouble-maker enough, certainly, but he was also close to Coran. His decision could go either way, but…there was ONE way to ensure him to her side.

Lance was dancing. Or, so Allura thought. There was some…noise coming from Pidge’s headphones and Lance was moving to it. “Lance?” She asked. 

He tripped over his own feet, but jumped back up. “Princess!” He said, smiling, “What can I do for your loveliness today?”

She took a deep sigh. She was going to regret this. “Would you like to go on a date with me?”

 

She already regretted this, and they hadn’t even left yet. After he got over his initial shock, Lance had them dress up. Allura sighed and got a pink dress out of her closet, while he dressed in an Altean blue formal outfit. There was also something in his hair that made it look shinier. 

“Hello, gorgeous,” He said, holding his arm out. Allura stared at the outstretched arm, unsure of what to do with it. Lance took Allura’s own arm and hooked it around his. “And, on we go.”

It was too dangerous to take Blue, so they took a pod. The entire time they traveled, Lance insisted on holding hands. Allura sighed, trying to show her displeasure as much as she could. Then she remembered she was supposed to be happy to be dating with him, and attempted to smile. 

Her attitude changed the tick they stepped onto the station, “Wow,” She said, looking around, “Its…incredible.”

“They didn’t have shopping malls 10,000 years ago?” Lance asked, guiding her further into the hallways. 

Allura shrugged. “If there were, I never got to go.” Lance raised an eyebrow at her, “We always had people to get any clothes, food, anything we wanted.”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Royalty, I tell ya.” 

Allura jabbed him in the side with her elbow. “So, what do we do at these places?” 

“Well…” Lance said, “We don’t have any money, so, not a whole heckuva lot. We can look at some pretty cool places, explore. If you REALLY want something, I can filch for coins in the fountain like Pidge and I did to get that video game.”

Allura raised her eyebrow as they stepped on an escalator, “Why are there coins in the fountain?”

Lance smiled, “Oh, its an old tradition, that, I guess is intergalactic. You make a wish when you throw a coin into the fountain.”

“And…then what?”

“Well, according to the tradition, the wish will come true!” Lance smiled, “IF you don’t tell anyone.”

Allura gave a small chuckle, “What an odd tradition.” 

Lance shrugged, “I suppose so.” He smiled to her as they reached the top, “So, what would you like to do?”

They reached the top of the escalator. “I…I don’t know. Why are you asking me?”

“This is a date, Princess,” He said, “I am here to cater to your every whim.” He dramatically took her hand and kissed it with a bow.

She only resisted rolling her eyes by looking around the various shops. Then…something caught her eye… “This way!” She said, grabbing his wrist and running. 

It took only two steps for his long legs to match her pace, although she was a great deal faster than he was expecting. 

She had her nose pressed up to the glass, “That sculpture there…that’s Altean!” 

Lance squinted to see past the glare. “The flowers?” He said, “It might just be a replica.” 

“One way to find out,” Before he could stop her, she was off again, heading inside. 

“Allura…” He said, “I don’t know if you’re allowed to touch the display…”

Allura picked up the statue and Lance hissed, urging her to stop, “That’s it. This marking here, on the bottom, see?” She held it up for him, “That’s the artist symbol for Keyalla, an Altean artist. This…this is genuine!”

“Careful with that!” 

Allura and Lance both yelped as a voice came from around their hips. A small orange woman with big round eyes snatched the little statue out of Allura’s hands. She took a little handkerchief out of her pocket and began rubbing it furiously “This is thousands of years old, I will not have you grubbing it up with your dirty finger grease unless you give me 10,000 GAC for it.”

Allura and Lance exchanged a confused expression. “Uhhh…” Lance said, “Aren’t you getting your fingerprints on it right now?” 

He instantly regretted it. The orange woman reached up, practically climbing over him, to stick her finger in his face. “Does this look like it has a fingerprint to you?”

“N-no ma’am!” He stammered. Allura was having a difficult time not laughing at him. 

“My species is designed not to leave traces of themselves behind like you dust-makers.” She said, “Perfect for dealing with antiquities and—“

She suddenly releases him, and he falls back onto the floor. Her attention has been turned onto Allura. Or, rather, Allura’s necklace. “What is THAT?” In a swift motion, she grabbed ahold of the chain and pulled it—dragging Allura’s neck with her. 

The orange woman doesn’t acknowledge Allura, though. “Altean design…high quality Scythian gold…it doesn’t look like it’s been touched in 10,000 years…”

It was Allura’s turn to look uncomfortable, and Lance’s to laugh silently at her. “Well…uh…yes, it was my mothers.”

The woman finally acknowledged her. “I’ll buy it off you. 100,000 GAC.”

Allura blinked at her in surprise, “I…I couldn’t! This has been in my family for years!”

“1,000,000 GAC.” She said. 

Allura swallowed, “I…I don’t know…”

“10,000,000 GAC and that’s my final offer.” 

Allura looked to Lance for help, and he smiled. 

 

10 minutes later they walked out of the antique shop with 9,990,000 GAC and a little statue of Altean flowers. “Honestly, my mother wasn’t even that fond of the necklace.”

 

“I have never had this much money in my life!” Lance said, ogling the bag of coins, “We could…we could buy ANYTHING here!” 

“Well,” Allura said, “Where do you want to start?”

Lance looked around, “Clothing,” He said, grabbing Allura’s hand, “Definitely clothing.”

Lance ran into a shop with mannequins of all shapes and sizes. It was a trek within itself to find the section made for humanoids, but once they did, Lance introduced Allura to the idea of a ‘Fashion show,’”

“What do you think of this?” Allura asked, stepping out in a navy skirt that went to her knees and a flowing sunset orange shirt. She had managed to get stockings to cover her legs, but her arms were exposed by something Lance called ‘cap sleeves.’ Most of her dresses covered everything, and she was left feeling a bit underdressed. What her father would say if he could see her…

She had expected one of Lance’s flirty compliments about how she looked beautiful, but he did seem to be looking over the outfit with a critical eye. “Hmm…you know, personally, I’m not as crazy about the skirt. Here,” He offered, “Try this one.” It was nearly identical, but in white. 

Once she had changed, he was in the dressing room himself. When he emerged, Allura’s eyes widened. If her father would have thought HER outfit was revealing, that was nothing compared to what Lance was wearing. It was like a single ribbon went all the way around his body, revealing very carefully placed patches of skin. “Like whatcha see?” 

“Its…is this typical for Earth fashion?” 

“Well,” He looked down on himself, “no, but I thought I might try it. You know, expand my interests into the alien and what not, being in space and all.” 

“What happens when you move?” She asked. 

“Hmm.” He bent over, and the ribbon loosened…he stood up right before it exposed anything lewd. “Maybe I should stick to some more traditional fashions.” He said, holding onto the fabric. She giggled at him, and he went to go look at more outfits.

They ended up buying four full outfits each, and wore a 5th outfit out. Allura was dressed in a dress with a bright pattern of black, white, red, green, yellow, and blue. Lance, meanwhile wore a lavender suit with silver patterns outlining it. “Allura, if I might say, we are killing it!” 

“Killing?” She said, alarmed, “Killing what?” 

“Oh, not literally,” He said, “We just…we look really good.” He smirked, “We make a really hot couple.”

Allura giggled nervously. They had had so much fun shopping, Allura had forgotten why they had originally come here. “Well, perhaps we should go back to the ship, there may be some issue there, and I’d hate to be away for too long.”

“Wait, wait, Princess,” Lance said, grabbing her hand again, “This is a date, you deserve a chance to relax, have fun and…”A smile crept on his face, “I know what we’re doing next.”

Lance dragged her to Ssanra’s Ssalon and Sspa. “Welcome to the answer to all your relaxation needs,” A very bored Galra receptionist said, “Please enjoy our delightful menu of relaxation options.”

Lance and Allura put their heads together. “Hmm,” He said, “Well, we can probably skip the tooth sharpening,” He said, “What do you think of this option.”

She read it, “Body massage (up to 10 limbs per person), Illyrian sand scrub, hair and/or fur style & wash, and claw painting.” 

“I’m hoping they’ll let us substitute our finger and toe nails for the claws.”

Allura sighed, “I don’t know…maybe we should be getting back, we’ve been here for quite a while.”

“Whaaat?” Lance said, “Come on. Would you prefer the package with tentacle suction and acupuncture?”

“No, no.” She said, “No, that’s not it at all. It’s just…I’m worried about being away from the ship for so long. And…this seems rather self-indulgent.”

Lance took a deep sigh. “Allura, do you remember the Balmera?” 

“What?” She said, “Of course!” 

“Where you nearly sacrificed your life? Or the space base, where you let yourself be captured to save Shiro? Or the time you thought Zarkon was tracking us through you so you left to save us all? Or the time you nearly sacrificed your life to use the teleduv? Or the time—“

“Alright!” She cut him off, “I get the picture, what’s your point?”

“You are an incredibly selfless person, Allura,” Lance smiled, “Its part of what makes me like you so much.” Allura was honestly surprised. She was fairly confident Lance only liked her for her looks. “But it also mean you could PROBABLY use some self indulgency.”

Allura sighed. “Alright. Alright! Let’s…do this.” They signed up for the spa package. 

Allura all but melted as two aliens with an excessive amount of limbs massaged into her muscles. Literally, due to her shapeshifting, she relaxed so much she literally flattened out a little. 

The sand scrub was…less enjoyable. It turned out Lance and Ssanra had very different ideas about sand and what it was supposed to do. In any case, being pelted with glass balls just a bit smaller than a fist undid some of the wonders of the massage. 

The hair treatment was the most fun. Lance’s short hair took only a few minutes, though it came out shinier. 

Allura, meanwhile, was overwhelmed by the number of options for someone with long hair. Lance helped her look through the number of stylizing options. “I don’t think I want it cut,” Allura said, skipping through the short styles, “At least, not much.” 

“With your hair, you could do practically anything,” Lance said, “I think some braiding would look really nice. Could be a good alternative to keep it out of your face for fighting.”

“Hmm,” She said, looking over the options. “I don’t know, I really don’t. You pick something, Lance.” She shoved the manual into his hands. 

He blinked in surprise for a few seconds before handing it to the hair stylist and saying “this one, please.”

Allura was expecting to be in the chair for hours, but after a gentle washing and some sort of formula being placed in her hair, it was put into a interesting side braid that Lance called a ‘french braid.’ “Its just…that’s how my sister put her hair up,” Lance said as they left the spa. He shrugged, “Her hair’s kinda similar to yours—different color obviously. But if you like it, I can do it for you on the ship. Well, not as good of a version, but it’ll work.”

Allura smiled at him. “I’d like that,” She said. 

Lance gave her a small sad smile. It was one she recognized: that of being homesick. “Here, I know what shop we’re going to next,” Lance said, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. 

She found herself in a shop with a green alien in a ‘51’ hat and a great deal of Earth merchandise, “This is where Pidge and I bought our video game.” 

“Ahh, right,” She said, “Earthlings have such interesting forms of entertainment.”

Lance chuckled, “What do Altean’s do for fun?” 

Allura sighs, “Altean’s tend to prefer more physical challenges. Things that test our speed, strength, agility,” She smiled, “sometimes we’d have shapechanging competitions.”

Lance laughed, looking over the various merchandise, picking each one up, staring at it to memorize its shape, and then putting it back, “Sounds exhausting. What about just relaxing for a night in?” 

“Well…we had theater.” 

“Ah, movies,” Lance said, “Now that I understand. I always liked a good action flick. Oh, look!” Lance grabbed a globe, with the continents all made into ridges to reflect mountains and valleys, “It’s not as fancy as the ship’s star map, but see here,” He said, pointing at a peninsula on the globe, “That’s Florida, that’s where I grew up, right next to where us Earthlings launched the very first rockets into space. And here,” He moved his finger down to an island below it, “That’s Cuba, where my family is from. We used to go and visit every summer, and the beaches…oh, they were the most beautiful thing you could imagine.”

Allura smiled. Lance always seemed so much more genuine when he was talking about Earth. “I’m sure its lovely. I sometimes regret not getting to see more of Altea when I had the chance. I was always dealing with diplomats and my lessons…” She sighed, “All our beaches were on cliff sides.”

Lance chuckled, “Damn, Altean’s don’t do anything half-way, do you?” 

Allura chuckled. “Well, if I can’t see my own beaches, maybe I’ll see yours someday,”

“Oh, you can see my beach anytime, Princess.” Lance smirked. Allura’s smile fell. “Too much?”

“Just a smidge,” she said. 

He laughed nervously, “sorry.” He looked back at the globe, spinning it fondly. He lowered his voice so the alien in the shop couldn’t hear him, “Have you ever thought about…like, where you’ll go after we defeat Zarkon?”

Allura blinked at him. “I—no, I suppose I haven’t. She cleared her throat, I’ve been far too focused on the mission at hand to even think…I…I suppose Coran and I will continue to fly through space, possibly offering assistance to other planets.”

Lance bit his lip, “Why don’t you come to Earth with us?” Her eyes widened in surprise, “Maybe not right away…and like, you could always leave…but you’d at least have us paladins there. And we’re all kinda like a family, so…I dunno. You don’t have to answer right now.” She stayed silent, unsure of what to even say to that. She had been so devastated at the loss of her world…she had never even thought of adopting a new one. 

“Oh, look!” Lance interrupted her train of thought as he bent down and picked up a box that said ‘Jenga.’ “Now this is a good ole-fashioned Earth game.” 

Allura looked at it, “It doesn’t look as flashy as Pidge’s.” 

“Well, that’s the beauty of it,” Lance said, “Its so simple! Personally, I’m terrible at it, but Hunk’s a rockstar.” Lance smiled, “I had been meaning to pick something up for him. I had been thinking maybe some cooking supplies or something.” 

Allura smiled at the game, “We should get everyone gifts,” She said, “I’m sure they’d all love it.”

Lance smiled right back. “I’m sure they would.”

They had fun looking for presents for everybody, not only in the Earth store but around the mall. In addition to the Jenga game they found interesting cooking contraptions they hoped Hunk would find interesting. They got Pidge a little helper robot (not an AI, but they weren’t sure that would stay the case once Pidge got her hands on it). For Shiro, they found a sleep-aid massage helmet, which looked weird but interesting. Keith they got a switchblade with 3 different knife options, (smooth, serated, and something that neither of them knew how to describe). Finally for Coran they got a personalized time-keeping device.

They were both tired at that point, so they took a rest at Vrepit Sal’s, a restaurant that reminded Lance of Hunk’s cooking. 

Lance, the gentleman that he was, insisted on letting Allura sit so he could get the food. When he placed it on the table, he also slipped a box in front of Allura. “What is this?” She asked. 

Lance shrugged, “I just figured I’d get a little present for you too,” he said, smiling. 

Curious, Allura opened the box and stared at what was inside. It was a silver necklace, decorated with pink and blue jewels, with the pendant in the center a little heart. “I thought, since you sold your old necklace, maybe you needed a new one.”

Allura’s own heart ran cold. She had been having such fun with Lance that day, she had forgotten yet again that technically they were on a date. This was clearly a romantic gift, and he seemed to have put some thought into the choice for it, but…Allura didn’t feel that way for him. She tried to imagine it, and the images simply didn’t fit into her head. 

“Well?” He asked after the silence stretched too long, “Do you like it?” 

“Ah,” She said, stuck on her words, “Its…it’s lovely.”

“Here,” He said, “Let me help you put it on.” He picked it up and stepped behind her. She swallowed awkwardly, lifting her braid to allow access to her neck. His hands on her neck mad her shiver away.

“Lance, um,” She said, turning to him, “Um…we need to talk.”

Lance sat down beside her, face falling. “We’re not on a date, are we?”

Allura bit her lip, “I’m so, so, so sorry, Lance. I didn’t think…well, honestly I didn’t think you seriously liked me. I had assumed it was mostly just a little crush and—“

“And that makes it okay?” he said, frowning.

She winced and his anger seemed to melt slightly, “No…no of course it doesn’t, you’re right. I didn’t take your feelings into consideration, Lance. I’m sorry, and if there’s anything I can do to make it up.”

Lance slumped in his chair. “I’m…I’m sorry too.” He said, commencing a staring match with his food, “I just…I don’t know, I thought ‘cause you never actually said ‘no’ that I might have a chance…I should have been paying more attention to see you weren’t interested.”

Allura sighed, watching him droop. It wasn’t a common sight, and it seemed wrong to see the cheery Lance so down. She scooted towards him, putting an arm on his shoulder, “I really did enjoy today, though.” She said, trying to pull a response out of him. He hummed listlessly, and she could practically see him spiralling into self hatred. “It’s the best date I’ve ever been on.”

He looked up at that with just his eyes, the rest of him remaining slumped. “Really.”

She nodded eagerly, “I mean, it’s the only date I’ve ever been on.” 

He snorted, and she was happy just to get that much humor out of him. “And the necklace…it really is lovely. Oh, and the spa was just…it was exactly what I needed, you were right.”

Lance took a deep sigh, “You know,” He said, “You really do remind me of my sister sometimes.”

Allura smiled, “Well, how about it, then?” He raised an eyebrow at her, confused, “I lost my family, except for Coran. And you don’t have yours out here, although you will see them again. So, why don’t we just…adopt one another as family. I’ve never had a brother before.” 

He blinked, not quite believing it. Finally he gave a half laugh and said, “I’ve got three sisters…I suppose one more couldn’t hurt.” She beamed at him, as he stretched out his arms. “Awkward sibling hug?”

She nodded and stretched her own arms out. “Awkward sibling hug.”

They held each other and squeezed. “Is that...” Allura said, looking over Lance’s shoulder, “Is that Coran?”

“We’ve got a bigger problem,” Lance said, looking over Allura’s, “That’s the mall security guard.” 

They held on to each other in fear for a moment. “Grab our bags and run?” Allura suggested.

“Sounds like a plan.” Lance said, as they broke apart, grabbing ahold of every bag they could reach and racing each other to their ship.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! My tumblr is dork-empress


End file.
